Furnace for the manufacture of glass articles.



H. G. SLINGLUFF. FURNACE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED .DEC..3, 1907. 1,164,766. Patented Dec. 21, 1915.-

6 SHEETS-SHEET l Haw. 6. Six??? H. G. SLlNG-LUFF.

FURNACE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLlCATlON FlLED DEC. 3, 190?.

Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

6 SHEETSSHEET 2.

H G. SLINGLUFF.

FURNACE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED mac. 3. 1907.

I 1,164,766. Patented Dec.21,1915.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSESI H. G. SUNGLUFF. FURNACE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED 05. a, 1907.

1,164,766. r v Patentd Dec. 21, 1915.

WATN ssa's:

- M -W 1i.

. H. G. SLINGLUFF.

FURNACE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 3, 1907.

1,164,766. Patented D6621, 1915.

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1,164,766. Patented, Dec. 21, 1915.

6 SHEETS$HEET 6.

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HARRY e. sLINeLUrF, or ALLEGHEN,'PEN11SYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO PITTSBURGH PLATE GLASS COMPANY, A conPon'ArroN or PENNSYLVANIA.

FURNACE FOR THE MANUFACTURE or GLAs's AnrIcLEs.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Dec. 21, 1915.

Application filed December 3, 1907. Serial No. 404,930.

citizen of the United States, have invented or discovered certain new and useful I1nprovements in Furnaces for the Manufacture of Glass Articles, of which improvements the following is a specification.

The invention relates-to glass-melting furnaces, and consists in the improvements hereinafter described, whereby I am enabled to 'drow glass articles directly from the deep body of glass contained in the melting-tank, or a reservoir of substantially equal depth in communication therewith, so that the ladling or flowing of small quantities 'o'fgl'ass into pots, hearths, or other shallow receptacles, as now commonly practised, may be obviated, and the manufacture therefore carried on more economically and expeditiously. By reason of the practical uniformity of the deep body of glass from which the articles are drawn, a better and more uniform product is also attained,

In the methods of drawing glasswhich have heretofore been commercially practised, the article has been drawn from a comparatively small quantity of glass, about sufficient for a single drawing, contained in a shallow pot or pan. In this operation, the glassfor each drawing is ladled from the melting furnace and poured into the pot. After an article has been drawn, the chilled residue must be disposed of, whichfisasually done by heating it until it will flow readily," and then dumping or otherwise ejecting it from the pot, in order to clean the latter preparatory. to receiving a charge for another drawlng.

It has also been proposed to draw glass articles from a comparatively shallow pool of molten glass which is permitted to flow from the melting-tank upon a hearth or floor projecting from the tank somewhat below the-surface of the body of glass in the latter, but the difficulty of maintaining such a shallow pool of glass at the proper temperature is very great.

By means of the present invention I am enabled to draw glass articles from the deep body of molten metal in the tank itself, and such heated body, by reason of its great mass opposite sides of the furnace, not shown.

and internal high temperature, substantially maintains itself in the proper condition, auxiliary heating devices being preferably employed locally above the surface of the glass, for thepurpose of assisting in the regulation of the temperature of the immediate surface at any point, as may be found desirable.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a glass-melting furnace or tank embodying my improvements. Figure 1 is an irregular horizontal section of a portion of such a furnace on the line 1-1, Fig. 2; Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section on the line II-IL Fig. 1 Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line III-J11,

Fig. 1, showing sundry of the parts in one positiom'and Figure 4: is a similar section view showing a modification, and Figures 6 and 7 are sectional viewson the line VI-VI of Fig. 5, showing the parts in difierent positions; Figure 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing a further modification, and Figure 9 is a diagrammatic general view showing the relation of the drawing apparatus to the tank.

The body of glass in the usual meltingend 2 of the large furnace or tank 1 is melted and maintained in molten condition by heat generated and applied in any suitable way, as, for instance, by the well-known system of fines-and regenerators for gas and air arranged in the customany manner, at the At the front of the melting-end the roof of the furnace is cut away, and the wall 3 ex-' tends downwardly preferably below the sur face of the glass, being supported upon pedestals 4:, with intervening arches 5, form ing a series of wide openings 6 in the wall 3 below the surface of the glass, through which the molten metal freely flows into the drawing-end 7, which preferably extends entirely across the front of the furnace.

The line A-B, Figures 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8,

indicates the level of the surface of the are built thetra-nsverse arches 9, below the level of the'glass, forming a series of wide openings '10 at intervals along the drawingend. Thinner Walls 11 are built upon the -"a1'ches 9 and project above thesurfac-e of the glass, thus dividing the upper portion of the drawing-end into a series of surface compartments, while the body below, by

' means of the wide ope'ningslO, forms a unitary reservoir open from end to end, which has free communication with the melting end 2 of the furnace through the wide openings 6. The numeral 12 indicates the front wall of the, furnace.

Along the outer wall 12 I preferably ar "range small heating-chambers 18 aboveithe surface of the glass in each compartment. The side-walls 14 of these local heatingchambers are supported upon the outer row of pedestals S, and their inner walls 15 form erably not below, the surface of the glass:

curtains extending down near to, but pref- The walls 15 may however, if desired, be made to project below, the surface of the glass; Burners 16 for the introduction of gaseous fuel are arranged in any desired number and location in the walls of .the heating-chambers p :By means of the heating-chambers 13 I am enabledto accurately regulate the temperature of the immediate surface of the glass, since the burners 16, or any of them, may be turned off or on, or adjusted, at will.

I I have found the use' of these local heat- 1ng-chambers to be of particular advantage along the outside wall 12, where there is some tendency of the glass to chill, and for this reason 1 also preferably place similar chambers 17 on the'walls 18 at the opposite ends of the drawingend, (only one end heingv shown in the drawings).

.I have also shown in the drawings a series it like heating-chambers 19 arranged along the inner line-of the compartments over the surface of'the glass above the respective openings 6. v

These local heating-chambers may however be arranged at any desired point orv points, or in some cases may be omitted altogether, since 1 have intended to illustrate in the drawings merely an arrangement which has been found to give very satisfactory re sults.

In the surface of the glass in 'the center of each compartment 1 place a ring 20 of refractory material, which projects slightly above the surface of the glass.- This ring may be made to float, but I prefer to make it of such weight that its opposite edges may rest upon ledges 21 which are preferably made to project for that purpose from the arches "9. The term ring is used in its broad sense to indicate generally perforated I segregating members throughwhich'drawing occurs, whether ornot such members are truly circularinteriorly and exterlorly,

it being particularly immaterial in what 1 forms the important function to be hereinafter mentioned, of properly directing the heat of the furnace upon and around the surface of the article being drawn, in order to prevent a too fast or abrupt chilling of the latter. 7

Above the exposed surface of the glass outsideeof the ring ineach compartment is suspended the vertically-movable top-stone 22, which constitutes apart of the roof of the compartment, and is constructed to resist the heat to which it is exposedpreferably by the use of refractory material. It

is provided with a central opening '23 which, is preferably of a diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of that portion of the ring which projects above the surface of the glass. The top-stone 22 is suspended by any suitable means, as by chains 24 attached to eye-bolts 25 on opposite. sides of I the top-stone, and connected to any suitable means for alternately raising the top-stone tothe position shown in Figure 3, and lowering it to the position shown'in Figure 4:,

slightly above the surface of the glass. A,

cover 26 isp'rovided for the opening in the top stone when the latter Is in its elevated position. When in elevated position the top-stone and cover serve to reflect vthe heat of the body of the glass, andthat from the local heating-chambers, directly upon the surface ofthe glass within the ring, so as to bring it to the desired uniform temperature. l/Vhen the top-stone'is lowered and the cover removed, the surface of the glass within the ring is exposed to the unimpeded cooling action of the atmosphere, and is thereby slightly chilled to the conditionbest adapted for the formation of the article to be drawn. During the drawing of the article, see Figure 4, the topstone and the ring, acting 111 (50n]l1]1(3t10n, serve to direct the 'heat'of the furnace upwardly around the article- This has been found to be veryoften chill too quickly or abruptly, and

break; while by subjecting the article to the heat permitted to escape from the furnace it is allowedto cool more gradually and is beneficial, since otherwise the article will r somewhat annealed during the drawing oporation.

In Figure 4 1 portion of a cylinderbeing drawn from the have indicated the lower) glass within the ring, it being understood that any suitable drawing mechanism'may be employed, the drawing being performed by the usual or any desired form of bait, and air or other fluid supplied to the article through the bait or in any other suitable way. As shown diagrammatically, in Figure 9, the bait 31 is supported in a carriage and arrangement of l wise substantially the same .the melting-end may 32 mounted upon guides 33, 33, the carriage being raised from a motor 34 by means of the cable 35 passing overfthe pulleys in the manner illustrated. Air is supplied to the hollow bait handle from the stand pipe 36, connected to a fan 37 by means of a flexible pipe connection 38 leading to the cylinder 39 on the carriage, which cylinder is in turn connected to the upper end of the bait handle by means of the pipe 40. In drawing articles of other form, such as a sheet, the opening in the top-stone and the ring will be modified accordingly.

In Figures 5, 6 and 7 I have illustrated what may be one of a series of separate drawing-chambers arranged along the wall of the melting-end in any desired manner, and in open communication with the body of the moltenglass in the melting-end,the form the parts being otheras has been already described. I have also shown this drawing-chamber equipped with local heating-chambers 27 on its opposite sides. The number and arrangement of local heatingchambers may be varied as found desirable, or they may be omitted altogether.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 6 illustrating a further modification, in which the burners in the inner local heating-chamber or chambers 19 are dispensed with, and an opening or openings cut through the wall 3 of the melting-end, so that the heat from be used instead of the burners. Means, such as the vertically slidingvalve or damper 28, are provided for closing the opening 29 when the top-stone is lowered, so as to cut off the supply of heat from the melting-end during the drawing operation. The .damper 28 may however be omitted, and the edge of the top-stone,

(provided with the plate 30 if necessary),

may be used for that purpose.

Other modifications in the furnace structure and apparatus may be made without departure from the scope of the invention.

In order to attain the best results the molten glass in the furnace should be maintained at a substantially constant depth and surface level.

In the drawing of glass articles from the furnace shown and described, the top-stone being in the elevated position shown in Figure 3, and its central opening closed by the cover, the surface of the glass which is segregated within the ring is heated uniformly to the desired temperature by the internal moved, and the surface Meanwhile the bait heat of the body of glass itself, and the heat. reflected downwardly from the top-stone and cover.

The top-stone is then lowered to the position shown in Figure l and the cover rethe lower end of the article is severed from the bath in any desired way, a number of which are now well known. To this end I prefer to discontinue the drawing and elevate the top-stone, when the lower end of the article will be quickly melted away.

The article is then removed, the cover replaced over the opening in the top-stone, and the surface of the glass within the ring reheated as before.

In the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2 a number of articles may be drawn simultaneously, or they may be drawn from the compartments of the drawing-end. in any desired order or sequence.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a receptacle for molten glass, the combination with a ring of refractory mate rial supported in the glass in said receptacle and projecting above the surface of the glass of a vertically movable roof provided with an opening adapted upon lowering said roof to register with the opening in the said ring, a reciprocatory means supporting the roof and adapted to raise and lower the roof and support it either with the lower side adjacent the ring or spaced above the ring, and a movable cover for said opening in the roof, the said roof and cover together serving to close the top of the drawing receptacle and prevent the escape of the heated gases.

2. In a drawing receptacle for molten glass. a vertically movable roof having a drawing opening, means for supporting the roof andadapted to raise and lower it, a ring of refractory material, positive means for supporting the ring against downward movement in the tank at such a depth in the glass that a portion of said ring projects above the surface of the glass but terminates below the said roof member, the said roof member being adapted to either lie closely adjacent the ring during the drawof the glass within ing operation and act as a shield, orto lie spaced above the ring during the reheating operation to permit the circulation of heated gases, over the surface of the glassin the ring, anda movable cover for said opening in the roof, the said roof and cover together servin to close-the top of'the drawing receptac e and prevent-the escape of ,the heated-gases.

3. In aglass-melting and drawing furnace, the combination with chamber adapted to contain a deep body of molten glass, of a drawing-chamber adapted to contain a body of molten glass of sub-- stantially equal depth, an opening or openings for, the flow of glass from one chamber to the other, a vertically movable roof for the drawing chamber, a drawing opening in said roof, means whereby that portion of the surface of the glass from which the drawing occurs is segregated laterally from the body of molten glass, and a movable cover for said opening, whereby the segrethe action of the atmosphere,

gated portion of glass may be cooled by removing the cover and exposing the glass to substantially as described.

4. In a receptacle for molten glass, the

- combination with a drawing ring lying with its upper edge projecting ab ve the surface of the glass, of a vertically movable roof provided with an opening slightly largerthan the outside dimensions of the upper edge of the projecting portion of said ring, and adapted upon lowering to surround said 5. The [combination with a receptacle for I molten glass, of a heating chamber 'supported upon the wall of said receptacle, said heating chamber having. a .roof projecting inwardly above the surface of the glass, and

" aninner wall depending from said roof and terminating at av point-above the surface of the glass, a drawing ring spaced away from the.;d'epending wall, and a movable roof having a -drawing opening and cover and fitting inside the depending wall.

' 6. Apparatus for drawing glass articles from a mass of -moltenglass', comprising ,a

, glass tank containing the molten glass, a

'1 through,

refractory body'having an opening thereiechanism supporting said body for movement with relation to the body of the glass in said tank, a blow pipe, mochanism constructed and arranged to support and lower said blow pipe into the body of the molten glass. in said tank through said opening in said refractory body, and to draw saidblow pipe upward therefrom in 3 a blast of the melting cting portion of said ring, and a cover for sand opening.

jedgeabove the surface the drawing process, and means to supply air through said blow pipe;-during' the drawing process. g 7'. Apparatus for drawing glass cylinders from a. mass of molten glass, comprising a glass tank containing the molten glass, a shielding body having an opening therethrough, mechanism supporting said body for movement with relation to-Jthe body of the glass in said tank and adapted to raise the shielding body to a point above; the hereinafter mentioned drawing pipe, mechanism constructed to support-and lower said blow pipe into jth'e body of the molten glass in said tanring, a blow and arranged. I

through said opening inv said refractory A body,

supply a blast of air through said blow pipe during the drawing process, a drawing ring lying with its upper edge above thesurface of the glass and adapted to cotiperate with and to draw said blow pipeupward' I therefrom in-the drawing process, means to the said shielding body to shield the cylin- 1 der being-drawn when the said shielding body is in its lowest position, and a cover for the shielding body. 8. Apparatus for drawing glass cylinders from a mass of molten glass, comprising a glass tank containing the molten glass and I roof member ring, a blow pipe, mechanism constructed to raise and lower the said blow-pipe into the body of molten glass in said tank through said opening andshielding body, and to draw said blow pipe upward therefror'n in the drawing process, means to supply a blast of air to said blow pipe during the drawing I process. a drawing ring lying with. its upper adapted to cooperate with the said shielding bodyto shield the cylinder being drawn.

when the said shielding bodyis in its lowest position, and a cover for the shielding body. I In testimony whereof, I'have hereunto set my hand. r

HARRY G. SL INGLUFF. 1

' -Wit nesses: Crrannns BARNETT, FRANCIS J. TOMASSON.

of the glass and 

